Something that did catch my attention was the fact that Australia and Britain both have higher rates of "violent crime" than the US. I would be interested to read into each nations definition of "violent crime".

A bit of digging seems to support this notion, at least. Violent crime has a different definition in the UK. However, when evaluated using the same parameters as the US definition of "violent crime", Britain still turns out with a rate that is somewhat higher. I think it shows that the correlation between gun control and the increase/decrease of violent crime is hazy at best, and retrospectively probably not a good factor to base a practical argument for gun freedom on.

I too fail to understand the wild-eyed foaming-at-the-mouth claim that the government is coming to take your guns. No one ever, in the history of... ever, has said they're going to do that. Never. Even in New York State, where we now have the most restrictive gun laws in the country, officials are not canvassing the state to round up all the illegal guns.

Awhile back I posted this simple truth: If the government wanted your gun, the government would take your gun. There's nothing you can do about it. The fact that you have a gun is because the government doesn't want it. Forget about all your crazy-ass ideas about defending yourself from an oppressive government. You don't live in reality. Even if you barricaded yourself in your home with a million rounds of ammo, if an oppressive government really really wanted to get you, someone in the Pentagon would push a button and a drone would destroy your house. Problem solved. Yes, they will take your gun from your cold dead hand, assuming they can find your hand.

None of that really makes any difference, except to say that the defense-from-government argument is stupid.

It seems like these people WANT there to be a civil war, as opposed to solving their actual problems without bloodshed, like Iceland. A bunch of self-important whip-me-ups wanting to throw in with their own shot heard round the world.

It seems like these people WANT there to be a civil war, as opposed to solving their actual problems without bloodshed, like Iceland. A bunch of self-important whip-me-ups wanting to throw in with their own shot heard round the world.

I honestly think it's mostly for attention. I really doubt if push were ,for some ludicrous reason, come to shove then people actually would barricade themselves in their own homes and have their own private Waco. I am a gun owner (albeit, I own a single WW2 bolt action rifle) but I have no intention of throwing my life away for something I enjoy but do not need.

Also, to interject my own feelings on the matter for whatever it's worth, I am a professionally trained shooter, I was in the Infantry, so firearms were my business. And I have to say, seeing untrained people at civilian shooting ranges has, on several occasions, scared the living shit out of me. I have seen some of the worst examples of firearms safety as well as just a complete lack of knowledge on anything to do with them. This includes basically assembly...and it really doesn't get much easier than assembling an AR style weapon. I have, however, seen a whole lot of 'look at me, I'm like call of duty with my m4, high speed optics and lasers and scoped torpedo mounts and... blah blah blah.' So, based on my experiences, I honestly think there should be tighter restrictions and better education. I don't think a civilian should have what I had in the service because what I used was a tool for my job. And besides, as iterated and reiterated, I think by Riffs, civilians really wouldn't be able to stand up to the U.S. military anyways so owning military grade weapons really wouldn't help them out should a far-fetched civil war occur. Anecdotal, yes, but that's my opinion from my own observations.

Also, to interject my own feelings on the matter for whatever it's worth, I am a professionally trained shooter, I was in the Infantry, so firearms were my business. And I have to say, seeing untrained people at civilian shooting ranges has, on several occasions, scared the living shit out of me. I have seen some of the worst examples of firearms safety as well as just a complete lack of knowledge on anything to do with them. This includes basically assembly...and it really doesn't get much easier than assembling an AR style weapon. I have, however, seen a whole lot of 'look at me, I'm like call of duty with my m4, high speed optics and lasers and scoped torpedo mounts and... blah blah blah.' So, based on my experiences, I honestly think there should be tighter restrictions and better education. I don't think a civilian should have what I had in the service because what I used was a tool for my job. And besides, as iterated and reiterated, I think by Riffs, civilians really wouldn't be able to stand up to the U.S. military anyways so owning military grade weapons really wouldn't help them out should a far-fetched civil war occur. Anecdotal, yes, but that's my opinion from my own observations.

More than a few proud gun owners are absolutely terrible with gun safety, it's horrifying. I know a lot of people would hate to see anything about guns taught on schools, but I think it would be good to teach the basic rules of gun safety in schools - not even with actual guns, but everyone in the country should know the most basic rules of gun safety - treat all guns as always being loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until you have your target sighted, never aim towards anything you aren't willing to destroy, and always be sure of your target. It tends to be taught better in areas where gun culture is strong, but a lot of people in places like here have an interest but don't even know the most basic safety practices.

It seems like these people WANT there to be a civil war, as opposed to solving their actual problems without bloodshed, like Iceland. A bunch of self-important whip-me-ups wanting to throw in with their own shot heard round the world.

If you are referring to the bank crisis, Iceland has not solved that problem at all. They are following the same doomed path as everyone else after experiencing ten brief minutes of rationality.

_________________"Since that time, I have received highest level confirmations that such organizations not only exist but are rooted in satanic ritual murder and extend across America’s political landscape into nearly every community."

Watching Obama's address on gun control. Is it just me or is he about to sign the executive order?

They would like for you to think that, but do not worry all is well. The filibuster reform was the last real chance they had to push any sort of ban through. The assault weapon ban will have a hard enough time getting the 60 votes it needs to move forward at this point, much less when it is introduced to the Republican led house that is going to smash it into oblivion. We have been working around the clock and every time there is a big speech or push from a talking head on gun control the big pro gun sites like ARFCOM or slickguns will promote "NRA Money Bombs" which have been incredibly successful in helping flood the NRA with all of its recent donations and memberships. Hopefully this will blow over soon enough so that Magpul can start to work on that one million plus backorder on PMAGS.